1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention relate to auxiliary add-in cards used in conjunction with portable electronic devices. More particularly, embodiments of the present invention provide a file structure (and graphical user interface) for storing and sharing information between a palmtop computer and a removable storage card, e.g., SD (secure digital) or MMC (multi-media cards), compact flash (CF), or MemoryStick™, etc.
2. Related Art
As the continuing advances in technology have enabled the further miniaturization of the components required in building computer systems, new categories of portable electronic devices and computer systems have been created. One of the newer categories of computer systems developed has been the portable, hand held, or “palmtop” computer system, commonly referred to as a personal digital assistant or PDA. Other examples of a palmtop computer system include electronic address books, electronic day planners, electronic schedulers and the like.
A palmtop computer system is a computer that is small enough to be held in the user's hand and as such is “palm-sized.” As a result, palmtops are readily carried about in the user's briefcase, purse, and in some instances, in the user's pocket. By virtue of its size, the palmtop computer, being inherently lightweight, is therefore exceptionally portable and convenient.
To support the diminutive form of the palmtop computer, certain components and functions normally associated with full-sized computers have been reduced or redesigned to facilitate portable use. To conform with the size limitations of the palmtop computer, the hard drive, the component normally utilized for data storage, has been generally replaced with quantities of RAM (random access memory), ROM (read only memory), and with removable memory, e.g., flash memory, etc.
Conforming to the size of the palmtop computer, new types of media cards have been developed for the PDA. These new media cards are called auxiliary add-in cards, or are also called secure digital, SD cards, Compact Flash (CF), or multimedia cards or MMCs, or memory sticks. These media cards are inserted into the PDA through an accessible expansion slot thereby providing a mechanism to add functions to a PDA while continuing to conform to the size restrictions of the PDA. The advantage of having an expansion slot is the ability to use the auxiliary add-in cards for providing the PDA with an almost endless array of different information and applications. SD and MMC add-in cards, by virtue of their size, (at approximately 32 mm long by 24 mm wide by 2.4 mm thick, are just slightly larger than a postage stamp) are easily carried by the user, and are also convenient to use.
Many users are familiar with the “copy” and “paste” functions used on a desktop computer to copy and move files from one place to another. For example, on a desktop computer, one can copy a file from a floppy disk and paste it onto the hard drive of the computer to make an identical copy of the file. The actual mechanism that facilitates the copy function can be a “drag and drop” function using a graphical user interface. However, many file structures used on a palmtop computer do not incorporate a “desktop analogous” method for managing data between the main memory on the palmtop device and a removable memory card associated with the palmtop device.